Ethiopian cement factories, Mugar and Messobo, have requested that the government halt cement imports in letters to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The cement factories claimed that they can produce enough to meet local demand.
The cement factories have excess stock according to an anonymous official at Mughar. The two factories have increased their annual production by a total of 1.7 million tons following expansion projects.
There has been seen an unexpected change in trend in the cement sector where supply could very well exceed existing demand according to industry sources. There are more cement factories in the sector while demand is decreasing.The difference between demand and supply has forced the price of cement down to about 300 birr per 50 kg bag from the 500 birr seen earlier this year.
Mugher Cement has taken this trend into consideration and is planning to open its doors to the private sector according to sources from within the company.
The national demand is expected to be approximately 8 million tons this fiscal year. This sum includes the more than 200 thousand tons required for the construction of the Great Renaissance Dam according to a stidy by the Ministry of Industry.
The total amount of cement demanded is still 5.8 million tons less that expected demand and 3 million less than that of last year.
There are five companies set to enter into production this year bringing the total supply to 12.6 million tons.
Source: Addis Fortune
